Barren and Metcalfe counties are two of the top tobacco producing counties in Kentucky. Although, total production is down compared to previous years, tobacco still maintains it's spot as one of the top agricultural commodities in the region. Since 2014 all major tobacco companies have required producers to be trained in Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) in order to market tobacco. This is due to an increasing concern for consumer health as well as the health and safety of those that work in tobacco. 

The University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, GAP Connections and the US Labor Department join forces each year to train producers.. The extension agents in Barren and Metcalfe counties have scheduled, hosted, facilitated, and provided materials and resources for the training for the past 4 years. At each training research based information that includes basic tobacco production information along with issues pertaining to worker safety and labor laws has been presented.   Representatives from Migrant Education Services have been on the program each year. All growers are registered with GAP connections and are  entered in a system that will record their training history and provide a transcript for them. 

An average of 250 tobacco growers have been trained each year for the past 4 years.  As a result, those who participated have been able to market approximately 17,000 acres of Burley tobacco and realize a gross income of over $ 70,000,000.  As tobacco programming efforts continue, the 2018 Barren/Metcalfe GAP training is scheduled for Tuesday, March 20th.